China coronavirus: quarantine anyone coming to Hong Kong from epicentre of deadly outbreak immediately, medical experts say
- No-nonsense suggestion comes as police urged to track down residents from Hubei province staying in city
- Calls for government to focus resources on monitoring Hongkongers who have returned from Hubei province after Lunar New Year holiday
Hongkongers who have returned to the city from the epicentre of the deadly Wuhan coronavirus outbreak in mainland China should be quarantined, by force if necessary, a leading medical expert has said.
Professor David Hui Shu-cheong, a respiratory medicine expert from Chinese University, suggested the no-nonsense approach, as Dr Ho Pak-leung, a top microbiologist from the University of Hong Kong (HKU), said police should track down any residents of Hubei province in the city and immediately isolate them or deport them back to the mainland.
Their comments came as other experts said the government should focus its resources on monitoring those who have returned to the city from Hubei province. Between 200,000 and 300,000 residents are estimated to have arrived from the mainland since Tuesday.
Ho said the government should follow Macau’s example and have police check Hong Kong hotels for Hubei residents, a suggestion that received a cautious welcome from the head of the city’s largest police officers’ union.
Lam Chi-wai, chairman of the Junior Police Officers’ Association, which represents 80 per cent of the 31,000-strong force, did not object to the idea, but said medical staff should accompany officers.